


Late Goodbye

by zoedupin



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin Eternal (Comics), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Acceptance, Anger, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily Angst (DCU), Gen, Grief/Mourning, Jason Todd is a good brother, Regret, Swearing, Tim Drake is a Good Brother
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28893993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoedupin/pseuds/zoedupin
Summary: ...He was angry at himself for not being able to convince Grayson; at Grayson for not accepting his offer and at Father for... For...For coming back from the dead?He quickly dismissed the idea....
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Everyone, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	1. More Than a Scratch

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I wanted to write this for a long time,  
> And today is the day!  
> Have fun :)  
> Warning: Major Character Death.

_Damian was excited. He impatiently swung his feet while sitting on the relatively tidy chair of Grayson’s. The rest of the house was like a battlefield, he felt like he could find dead bodies under the pile of clothes if he picked them up._

_“Hurry up, Grayson! Your house smells like Devil’s armpit. I do not want to be poisoned by this horrendous odor.”_

_He watched as Grayson dried his hair in a deliberately slow motion._

_“-Tt-”_

_Grayson’s eyes wrinkled in genuine amusement. “Sorry Lil D.” he laughed. “Just give me three more minutes and I’ll be ready.”_

_True to his words, he really got ready in three minutes. He looked at the mirror one last time, ruffled his perfectly styled hair, and put a huge grin on his face._

_“-Tt- You are insufferable,” Damian said with a smirk he was trying to hide._

_“Thank you little bird, I love you too,” Grayson said again as if he felt the fondness in Damian’s words. “Now, grab the keys, and let’s pay a visit to our small friends.”_

_For the first time in his life, Damian obeyed an order with pleasure._

_Who was he to decline such an offer?_

_Hell, he was looking forward to this day. Not like he was going to admit it to Grayson though._

_He even treated Drake as nice as he could for the sake of this day._

_And finally, he and Richard were going to visit the Bludhaven Animal Shelter._

_So, ‘Damian was excited.’ was a huge understatement._

_He was ‘thrilled’, as Grayson would have put it into words._

_***_

_The ride in the car was a calm and comfortable one. Grayson was driving silently while sending wide grins on Damian’s way at every two seconds._

_“Just say it, Richard.” Damian couldn’t stand this awkward silence anymore; his excitement didn’t make it better too._

_“Say what?” Grayson asked in a pretentious innocence._

_“You cannot fool me, Grayson. You wish to say something,” said Damian and glared at the older boy sternly. If his glares were anything like his father, then Grayson would spill._

_“Jeez.” he groaned a few seconds later. “I am not your enemy Lil D. I am Dick, remember?”_

_“I am perfectly aware of that.” was Damian’s response._

**_Oh no!_ ** _said a weak voice in his head._

_He knew he made a mistake the moment he saw the amused glint in Grayson’s eyes._

_“Ha! You’ve made your first dick pun.” Grayson exclaimed with joy._

_“No, I didn’t.”_

**_Well done Damian_ ** _, the voice was stronger now. **Well done**._

_“Yes, you did little bird. I am proud of you.”_

_“I didn’t.”_

**_But you did. You wanted him to laugh,_ ** _said the voice again._

_“I can’t wait until Jason hears this. And Tim...” Grayson chuckled._

_“-Tt- You are unbearable Richard,” Damian muttered cheeks red from both embarrassment and hidden amusement. Silly or not, Grayson was an adequate company compared to other imbeciles._

_“Not my fault though,” said Grayson, his voice suddenly serious. “All I wanted was to tell you how much I’ve missed you.”_

_Huh._

_That was unexpected._

**_But mutual_ ** _, whispered the voice again._

_He missed Grayson too. He missed his mentor, his Batman... and his brother._

_Whatever._

_He was not going to admit that to Grayson._

_Or to anyone._

_Never._

_It had almost been a year since the last time Grayson visited the Manor. He had left after a few days from Father’s arrival and only came back to collect his belongings._

_Of course, he had seen Nightwing occasionally in the Batcave, but never Grayson and never out of the cave._

_Not until today._

_A part of Damian was stupidly proud that it was him who brought Grayson back to the Manor. It gave him a feeling of superiority upon the other morons._

_So, when Grayson’s car went through the manor’s gate, Damian didn’t even try to hide his pleasure._

_“We shall inform Pennyworth upon your- our arrival,” he said cautiously. He knew that the old butler had already known about their entrance, but he had to say something to fill this awkward silence. Grayson was anxious, and he was making Damian anxious too. It felt like the moment he says one wrong word Grayson would disappear forever._

_“Well... I think it is time to say goodbye to each other, Damian.” Grayson started with an unsure voice as if he didn’t know what he was supposed to say too._

_“Not necessarily Richard.” Damian tried one more time._

_Why?_

_Why was it so hard to come back?_

_Damian was not a child. He was perfectly aware of the arguments between his father and Grayson but how come Grayson couldn’t see the fondness his father had towards the first Robin, was a question he had yet to find a proper answer._

_“Pennyworth will be happy if you join us for dinner.” He said as if he was stating a fact. Then he silently added, “I will be pleased too.”_

_It was barely audible but Damian knew Grayson heard him, the moment he saw how his stiffened shoulders gave away and got into a more relaxed position._

_“You are flattering me, Damian.” Richard smiled affectionately but his hands never left the wheel he was holding tightly._

_He won’t come then, Damian thought sourly. Suddenly a hot wave of anger bubbled up in his chest._

_He was angry at himself for not being able to convince Grayson; at Grayson for not accepting his offer and at Father for... For..._

_For coming back from the dead?_

_He quickly dismissed the idea._

_“I have a lot to do tonight,” Grayson continued. “I’ve got a case to solve and bad guys to catch.”_

_Damian tsked. He stared at his mentor, arms crossed. “You don’t have to make up poor excuses Grayson.” He reached the door’s handle. “I understand.”_

_Grayson huffed sheepishly, then his hand went towards Damian’s head and ruffled his hair. “I am sorry little bird. There are a lot of going on in Bludhaven lately. Even my day job is extremely hectic.” He patiently waited for his words to sink in. “Still, I will try to come to the manor on Friday night, as soon as my shift ends. We can have a family dinner and then we can go on a patrol together. What do you say, little bird?”_

_Damian kept his composure calm and tried not to look too enthusiastic. “I will make sure that Father won’t be around when you come.” He put a small yet genuine smile on his face to show his approval about the deal they had just made._

_“Okay,” Grayson said happily before Damian opened the door and leaped out of the car. “Wanna give me a hug?”_

_Damian shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “-Tt- Don’t be ridiculous Grayson. We will meet again in three days. This is barely a goodbye.”_

_“Indeed,” with a quick move, Grayson came closer and ruffled Damian’s hair again. “However, this is not a goodbye, little bird. This is called brotherly affection.”Then he let him go and waited until Damian got inside the Manor before he left._

****

He felt it before he saw it.

The sound that Todd’s boots made against the floor was not something that could be mistaken for anything else.

He quickly took a glance at his classroom to make sure that no one was looking at him, and then he took his phone from his pocket to check for messages and missed calls.

None.

No notifications.

Nothing.

Then why was Todd here, of all the people?

Usually, it was Pennyworth who took him from school and he never took him in the middle of a lesson either. Waste of time or not, he and Father were very strict on his attendance at the lessons. They would not take him from the class for no reason.

So, either Todd was here to shoot someone or something was horribly wrong.

A sudden thought struck him, at the same time Todd opened the classroom’s door.

A glance at Todd was enough to understand the seriousness of the situation. His eyes were bloodshot as if he tried to gauge them with his bare hands, his body was strained, and he had a solemn look on his face instead of his cocky smile.

“I am here to get Damian,” Todd said tiredly. As if it was him who was carrying the weight of the world and not the Atlas. “C’mon kid!” he said, his eyes never met with Damian’s.

Someone must’ve gotten hurt then.

But who?

It couldn’t be Father, because he was at work; joining at his boring meetings. Besides, if something happened in Wayne Enterprises Damian would have heard some gossips or news.

It couldn’t be Grayson too. Of course, Damian knew that he was a cop in Bludhaven but his daily work was like going to an amusement park compared to his night activities.

And definitely, it couldn’t be Drake. Todd wouldn’t even bother to move his finger for him, let alone coming to Damian’s school.

Could it be someone from the hero community? Damian knew Red Hood had friends.

Could it be Red Arrow? Artemis? Bizarro?

But why to come Damian, why-

_Oh._

Pennyworth.

He had forgotten the old butler. It could be him, and that would explain both his absence and Todd’s existence in his classroom.

Something had happened to Pennyworth then.

Damian didn’t know what to feel though. He and Pennyworth didn’t have a mutual past. It had been barely two years since Damian came into Father’s life; the butler was already too old then. However, the old man had always been respectful towards him and his boundaries. In turn, Damian held respect for the man who raised his father and never disrespected him. That was all he could spare to the old man.

The others though... They were probably devastated, already started to live their grieves in their own ways.

Father would stop talking to them for a very long time, Drake was none of his business, Todd was already a mess, and Grayson...

Damian cursed. He remembered how Grayson was after Father’s “assumed death”. He was a smiling face with a bleeding heart.

_-Tt- imbecile,_ he thought fondly.

He warily stood up, gathered his belongings, and went next to Todd. The man gently touched his shoulder and led him towards the outside of the classroom.

“Is Pennyworth okay?” Damian asked to break the silence while they went down the stairs. For a second he pitied the old Robin; he was very fond of Pennyworth too.

“What? Alfred? No, no, not at all.” Todd said as if Damian woke him up from a nightmare. His hands were in his pockets now, eyes fixed on the blue walls of the corridor.

“Tim is waiting for us in the car,” he added.

“Then who?” Damian asked with growing fear. “Tell me who it is.”

Todd took a deep breath, “Oh God...” he groaned. “Let’s go to the car, Tim is waiting and we-”

“Is it Father?” Damian interrupted, he needed to know. “Is it Gordon? Brown? Ca-”

Todd gave a mirthless laugh. “You know who it is, kid. You are avoiding to tell his name.”

“Grayson,” Damian muttered.

“Yes, Grayson. He got shot on duty, this morning.”

_Oh._

“-Tt-“ he managed to say without compromising his fear and panic. “That imbecile always finds a way to hurt himself. Are we going to Gotham General?” he added, ignoring the bad feeling crawling inside him.

“No, kid. We are going to Manor.” He let the breath he was holding.

“Then it must be merely a scratch. Why ar-”

“It is more than a scratch, Damian. He is dead. Dead.” Todd answered angrily, face twisted with disgust as if he could taste the ugliness of the words. Each word was sharper than a knife, stabbing Damian’s heart, deeper and deeper until there was nothing left.

He was in awe by his own reactions. His body was moving without Damian’s consent. His lips were trembling as well as his hands. His legs were too heavy, eyes too hot. There was too much going on in his head and he couldn’t grasp a single thought. He couldn’t.

He needed to sit. Oh, God... He needed to think and breathe and say something and why were his lips trembling? He couldn’t see anything clearly either, his eyes were too hot and watery and...

Grayson is dead?

No.

No.

This must be a nightmare, an illusion, a lie. Perhaps he was poisoned. Or maybe it was Todd who was poisoned. He needed to call Grayson. Damian needed to talk to him, to hear his voice. He tried to take his phone out of his pocket but his hands were trembling so badly that he dropped it to the ground.

“Shit!” he heard Todd saying, “Fuck you, Bruce! You can’t... you can’t just burden me with this,” he mumbled, his voice was full of sorrow and anger.

“Kid... Hey, take a deep breath, okay? I’m sorry, I... I know how-” Todd put his hands on Damian’s shoulders, only for Damian to brush his hands off harshly.

“Liar.” he snarled, his voice was on the verge of crying. He clenched his fists and let the anger flow to his hands. “You’re delusional. You... you’re lying.”

With a newly found energy, Damian kneeled to pick up his phone, ignored his shaking hand, and dialed Grayson’s number. For a few seconds nothing happened and then just as he was about to give up, it was opened.

“Damian.”

His father’s solemn voice filled his ear.

And that was when Damian accepted his defeat. He immediately closed the phone, didn’t have the guts to hear his father’s voice again. Instead, he slowly put his phone into his pocket and walked towards the car, each step was bringing him closer to the inevitable truth.

_Grayson is dead._

And it was more than a scratch.

...


	2. The Ugly Face Of Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He watched as Grayson talked to the armed dealer, in a calm posture with a gun that was never going to be fired in his hands.  
> He watched as Grayson took a step back slowly; put the gun in its holster and expectantly waited for the dealer to do the same.  
> Instead, he got shot three times in the chest.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here is the second chapter. There are some things I need to say;  
> 1.This story takes place before the Forever Evil. So Dick never became Agent 37 or faked his death in this story.  
> 2\. Chapters will come monthly from now on because I want this story to be a good one and chapters to be longer. However, if you have any prompts, I would gladly write them meanwhile.  
> 3\. Thank you so much for your kudos and comments, they inspire me :))

**(30 minutes later)**

The ride in the car was like torture.

Damian wanted to talk to Grayson. To hear his soothing, caring voice; to tell him how ridiculous his day was and how Drake cried like a baby and he didn’t.

Damian wanted to kill Drake.

Now more than ever.

That moron never accepted Father’s death, he fought with everyone, he even argued with Grayson and left the Manor for the sake of finding someone who is believed to be dead. He never quit searching for Father until he brought him home back. Then why was he so willing to accept Grayson’s death? Damian never heard him arguing or saying anything intelligible, all he did was crying silently.

Every time that moron sniffed, Damian wanted to punch him in the face until he shuts up permanently.

Why was he crying?

Grayson was not dead. He wouldn’t die like this; not so easily, not without a fight. Hadn’t Drake known him longer than Damian did? How could he believe in such a ridiculous lie?

At first, Damian believed in it too. But it was not because he thought of Grayson as an incapable human being. No, it stemmed from his pessimistic nature, his fear of happiness.

But once he thought of things logically, he realized that they couldn’t be that simple. Grayson was a dramatic imbecile; he wouldn’t just die without saying his final words.

Something different must’ve been going on.

Something bigger than Drake and Todd. And there was only one person who could give a proper answer to Damian’s questions.

Father.

So he waited.

**(4 hours later)**

Knowing something and believing in it were two different things.

Damian knew that Richard “allegedly” died this morning; it was all over the news _. “Breaking News: Bruce Wayne’s ward Officer Richard Grayson gets killed during a negotiation with drug dealers.”_

But Damian never believed in this story, he never bought it.

When he saw the footage, his suspicions towards the story increased.

Of course, he knew that Grayson was not infallible but he had a certain level of intelligence in his mushy brain. He wouldn’t simply standstill in front of an armed drug dealer and wait to get shot, he wouldn’t do that even if he wasn’t trained by the best; it was against common sense anyways.

Getting more and more bored with every passing second in his room, Damian stood up and walked towards the stairs. For a second he thought of knocking on Drake’s door, to see what he was doing, and then abandoned the idea. He couldn’t waste his time with that moron.

He had more important tasks to complete.

Such as finding what happened to Grayson.

First of all, he needed to watch the footage again; he must have missed some details when he first saw it.

Easier said than done.

There was one thought that was gnawing at his heart; one thought that was eating his soul like a worm eats a tree.

_What if Grayson is really dead?_

_What if the footage is real?_

_Tt._

Grayson was not an ordinary person.

Their lives were not ordinary. There was always a catch, always something more. This footage was just the tip of the iceberg. It was up to Damian to find out what really happened and bring Grayson back home.

With these thoughts in mind, Damian quickly went to the Cave and settled in his chair.

Then he watched the footage.

Again.

And again.

And again.

He watched as Grayson talked to the armed dealer, in a calm posture with a gun that was never going to be fired in his hands.

He watched as Grayson took a step back slowly; put the gun in its holster and expectantly waited for the dealer to do the same.

Instead, he got shot three times in the chest.

It all happened too fast, too suddenly.

Then Grayson hit the ground, his white shirt quickly turned into the darkest shade of red while his attacker ran away and left Damian with unanswered questions.

Not letting his doubts hinder his investigation, Damian examined the video thoroughly. It seemed untouched. Nothing was added or taken from the tape.

It made the footage real.

 _So be it,_ Damian thought.

He didn’t expect his mission to be an easy one anyway.

“And, this is where you should start to believe that our Dickhead is dead.”

“Shut up!” Damian said, startled by the sudden interference of Todd’s.

“The footage is real.” Todd tried again, somehow enjoying the whole ordeal.

“I know.”

“Do you know what that means?” Todd asked while he got off the shadows he hid in.

“Tsk. Of course, I know what that means. However, just because the footage is real, it doesn’t mean that what happened was also real.”

Todd scowled. For a second Damian thought that he might attack him. Then, he let out a tired sigh and came closer to him.

“You think Dickhead faked his death?” he asked incredulously.

“Indeed. Unlike you, I have the necessary detective skills to reach this conclusion.” Damian said.

“Then you have some proofs?” Todd asked in a mocking voice. Damian didn’t like the inferiority he felt under Todd’s gaze.

“Not yet, but I have some suspicions,” he said, his voice became weaker with each word.

“HA-HA!” Todd let out a mirthless laugh. “You’re in denial, brat.”

Damian clenched his fists furiously but didn’t say anything. He was not going to entertain Todd further.

“Dick is dead. Killed by a 15-year-old drug dealer named Joshua Forster.”

“15 years old?” Damian asked unable to hide his shock. He never looked at the dealer on the footage carefully. Grayson had had all of his attention.

“Yeah. Apparently, there was a negotiation between Police and the drug dealers. Then this punk suddenly ran off and Dickhead went after him.”

Damian suddenly felt dizzy with this information bombardment. Every time Todd spoke and added detail, he made the story more and more vivid and turned this nightmare into a reality.

 _Why didn’t you shoot him, Grayson?_ he thought idly as if he didn’t know Richard better. He would never shoot a kid, not in any circumstances.

“But, why didn’t he step aside? Why did he put his gun away? He could easily dodge the bullets, or neutralize the threat without an effort.”

He was Nightwing after all. One of the best heroes Damian had ever seen.

“Well...” said Todd, seemingly unfazed by Damian’s questions. He took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it up with a scowl on his face.

“We all know that Dickhead had a tendency to trust in feral demon spawns. He probably believed in the goodness in the brat’s heart. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up well for him this time.”

No.

Grayson wouldn’t die in such a ridiculous way.

“Where is Father?” he asked, unwilling to keep on arguing with Todd.

“Gotham General. Busy with Dick’s death certificate and other procedures.”

Damian felt like a commander who was losing a war. He was not ready to give up yet but he was surrounded by the ugly truth from all fronts.

 _Grayson is dead,_ he thought. Part of him was curious, wondering how he was going to react to this idea.

No reaction. Nothing. He didn’t even feel sorry. More precisely, he didn’t feel anything; no grief, no sorrow, no pity. As if his heart turned into a black hole and swallowed Damian, and left only one thought to echo in his mind.

_Grayson is dead._

****


End file.
